Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: 75,000 Miles (Worth $750 in Travel)

Posted on May 8, 2025 // 12 Comments

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The card_name is a premium travel rewards card with a flat 2 Miles per dollar on all purchases. 75,000 miles can be redeemed as a $750 credit towards any travel purchase made with the card (any airline website, any hotel website, AirBNB stays, Uber rides, no blackout dates). Here are the highlights:

  • 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening – that’s equal to $750 in travel.
  • 2x miles on every purchase, every day.
  • 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. They offer a Price Match Guarantee.
  • Up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®.
  • Enjoy two complimentary visits per year to Capital One Lounges or to 100+ Plaza Premium Lounges through the Partner Lounge Network. This perk is valid through December 31, 2024.
  • Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase-or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel.
  • Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
  • Miles won’t expire for the life of the account and there’s no limit to how many you can earn.
  • $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection.
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • $95 annual fee.

Note the following about existing or previous cardholders:

Existing or previous cardmembers are not eligible for this product if they have received a new cardmember bonus for this product in the past 48 months.

(Capital One’s “ultra-premium” card is the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which has more perks including Priority Pass airport lounge access and a $300 annual travel credit through Capital One Travel, but also a higher $395 annual fee. This Venture card is more directly competitive with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, while the Venture X competes more directly with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.)

Redemption details. Capital One “miles” can be redeemed directly for a cash statement credit on a 1 mile = $0.01 basis when offsetting any travel purchase made on the card within the past 90 days. In other words, 50,000 miles = $500 toward travel. That means you can fly on any airline or stay at any hotel, pay with this card, and then “erase” that purchase using your miles balance later. This even includes AirBnB vacation rentals, car rentals, and Uber rides.

This means that earning 2 miles on every $1 in purchases essentially makes this a 2% back card when applied towards travel. You also have the option of booking travel through their travel portal, similar to Chase Ultimate Rewards, but you are not required to do so. You have the flexibility of booking through them or making the purchase directly through the airline, hotel, car rental counter, etc. This makes it easy to combine and spend all your Capital One miles.

Miles transfer options. Capital One now allows you to transfer your “miles” into select airline miles programs as well. Here are the airline transfer partners:

  • Aeromexico
  • Air France/KLM
  • Air Canada Aeroplan
  • Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
  • Avianca Lifemiles
  • British Airways Avios
  • Emirates Skywards
  • Etihad
  • EVA
  • Finnair
  • Qantas
  • Singapore Airlines Krisflyer
  • TAP Air Portugal
  • Turkish Airlines
  • Virgin Red

Hotel partners

  • Accor Live Limitless
  • Choice Hotels

If you know how to leverage one of these international airline miles programs (my favorites are Aeroplan and Avios since you can combine family points), this can be a very valuable option. Otherwise, it’s nice to know you can always get a certain level of value by redeeming against any travel purchase.

Bottom line. The card_name earns 2x miles on every purchase, which you can either redeem against any travel purchase or transfer to one of their airline/hotel partners.

Due to the $700+ potential first-year value, I will be adding this card to my list of Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, General //

Walmart+ Week 2025: Bonus Walmart Cash, Free Express Delivery, Gas Discount, Burger King

Posted on April 29, 2025 // 5 Comments

Walmart+ Week 2025 is running from 4/28 to 5/4/25 and here are the offers mostly for paid Walmart+ members (not in trial period), including estimated value and potentially useful fine print:

  • 1 Free Express Delivery ($10 estimated value). Get stuff within 1-hour or 2-hours. Available to paid Walmart+ members only. One time use during 4/28/25 – 5/4/25. Express Delivery discount applied at time delivery is scheduled and order is placed. No order minimum.
  • 50 cents off per gallon at Exxon & Mobil Stations. (15 gallons = $7.50 value). Participating stations only. Valid 4/28/25 – 5/4/25.
  • Free Burger King sandwich w/ $1 purchase every day. Walmart + Members can redeem a free single Croissan’wich® with a $1 minimum purchase once per day, and one free Whopper® Jr. with a $1 minimum purchase once per day, at participating U.S. Burger King® restaurants.
  • 6 months of Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan. Available to paid Walmart+ members only. Limited supply. Valid 4/28/25 – 5/4/25. Separate registration required. Cannot be in an active Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan upgrade. After free trial, plan will automatically renew at $5.49/mo for monthly members or $64.99/yr for annual members.
  • $5 Walmart Cash with scan & go. One-time. Available to paid Walmart+ members only. Limited to one redemption between 4/28/25 – 5/4/25. Basket must be over $15. Only available while supplies last.
  • $10 Walmart Cash w/ two Walmart+ Week offer redemptions from above list. Available to paid Walmart+ members only when you redeem two Walmart+ Week offers. Valid 4/28/25 – 5/4/25.

I joined Walmart+ in the past, but I didn’t really find value in it. I mostly just use the pickup service because my experience with their delivery service hasn’t been the best (broken/missing items, unexpectedly cancelled deliveries, etc). I suspect this varies by location. I prefer their pickup service as you can add items up until pretty last-minute, and then you can also reject their substitutions all the way up to the time of pickup.

I did notice that Walmart+ members can now use Scan & Go at Walmart (this is popular at Sam’s Club for faster checkouts).

Walmart+ is also offering all expired Walmart+ members a “half off” $49 Discounted Membership Offer until 5/4/2025. If I grabbed all of the Walmart+ Week offers that are actually useful to me, it adds up to about $25. It would be easy to start the 6-months of Paramount+ and use Scan & Go. Is a net price of $25 worth it? 🤔

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Aven Advisor: Track Your Finances, Get $5 Starbucks Gift Card Every Week (Homeowners w/ 700+ Credit)

Posted on April 22, 2025 // 35 Comments

Update June 2025: This offer now appears to be severely limited very soon to occasional gift cards.

Update April 2025: I’ve continued to receive my $5 in SBUX credit every week with no issues, up to over $50 so far. Honestly, getting $5 worth of caffeine every week feels better than it should, no wonder Starbucks is effectively running its own currency. You do need to remember to log into the app every week (Fridays for me, not sure if same day for everyone). Now you can either sign up for Starbucks or Dunkin credit (thanks to DoC).

You can still get an additional one-time $5 cash bonus if you open through Aven.com/advisor and use my invite code JP25DJVG7K during the app sign-up. You’ll need to link a bank account via Plaid to get the $5 transferred to you.

Some caveats: Don’t accidentally sign-up for their credit card, it is not required to get this $5 weekly credit. They have also added new fine print that the offer is limited to residents of AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MI, MN, MS, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, SD, TN, UT, VA, WI, WY. This was not the case originally.

Original post from 2/3/2025:

Aven Advisor is a new app that promises to help to track your financial situation. Kind of like the old Mint app, you have to give them your personal info and link up bank accounts/credit cards, and then they offer a unique mix of things:

  • Free weekly credit score (VantageScore 4.0 for me, even though some screenshots show FICO).
  • Find your hidden subscriptions by mining your transactions.
  • Track your home value, neighborhood home prices, and show you nearby house listings.
  • Get a free lien report on your property.
  • Track your bank balances, brokerage balances, and credit card debt.
  • Track the value of your car.
  • Shows you nearby Facebook Marketplace listing for cars and other random things.

So why give them your data? Well, if you are a homeowner with a good credit (700+), they will give you $5 in Starbucks credit once every week. You have to manually open the app and tap the link on every Monday (so they know you’re actively using it), but I’ve successfully gotten my credit. Loads right onto my Starbucks app, see screenshot below.

Join at Aven.com/advisor (remember, only homeowners get the Starbucks offer). You can also get an additional one-time $5 cash bonus with my referral code JP25DJVG7K. Thanks if you use it. You’ll have to link a bank account via Plaid to transfer the $5 into your account.

Filed Under: Banking, Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Frontier Airlines Gold Status Match for All Southwest Rapid Rewards Members

Posted on April 21, 2025 // Leave a Comment

Frontier Airlines is offering a status match promo to their Gold Status for all Southwest Rapid Rewards Members. The status match lasts through December 31st, 2025. Offer is set to expire April 30, 2025. It costs $40 to apply for this status match, but my understanding is that as long as you have a single Frontier flight sometime during 2025 where you’d like to bring any sort of luggage, you’ll basically break-even or better. A single carry-on baggage fee paid at booking starts at $30 and can cost up to $55 ($60 if checked at gate). Standard seat assignments cost from ~$17 to $55.

If you fly Frontier regularly, then this could be a very valuable deal. (I’ve never flown Frontier myself, but I understand that between certain cities, they are often the best deal by far, even with all the various add-on fees.)

Gold Status includes:

  • Priority boarding (Zone 1)
  • Free seat assignment at booking (Preferred). Possible free Premium seat upgrade at check-in.
  • Free carry-on bag.
  • No change or cancellation fees (+7 days from departure).
  • Priority customer care.
  • 14X points per $1 spent at flyfrontier.com.

Selected terms from the fine print:

· All applicants must be current members of the FRONTIER Miles? program. If you’re not currently enrolled, you may do so here.

· Eligible members must hold a valid Southwest Rapid Rewards membership (joined Rapid Rewards before April 16th, 2025) and provide details.

· The FRONTIER Miles Elite Gold Status offer is valid for purchase for a limited time. The offer may change or be withdrawn at any time, including but not limited to the fees and validity period.

· The Instant FRONTIER Miles Elite Gold Status offer provides eligible and approved members Frontier Elite Gold Status through December 31, 2025.

· The upgrade to the member account will be processed within 24-48 hours.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Best Interest Rates Survey: Savings Accounts, Treasuries, CDs, ETFs – April 2025

Posted on April 20, 2025 // 2 Comments

Here’s my monthly survey of the best interest rates on cash as of April, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. Banks love taking advantage of our idle cash, and you can often earning more money while keeping the same level of safety by moving to another FDIC-insured bank or NCUA-insured credit union. Check out my Ultimate Rate-Chaser Calculator to see how much extra interest you could earn from switching. Rates listed are available to everyone nationwide. Rates checked as of 4/20/2025.

TL;DR: Short-term savings accounts dropped again slightly overall. Short-term T-Bill rates at around 4.3%. Top 5-year CD rates are ~4.25% APY, while 5-year Treasury rate is ~4%.

High-yield savings accounts*
Since the huge megabanks still pay essentially no interest, everyone should at least have a separate, no-fee online savings account to piggy-back onto your existing checking account. The interest rates on savings accounts can drop at any time, so I list the top rates as well as competitive rates from banks with a history of competitive rates and solid user experience. Some banks will bait you with a temporary top rate and then lower the rates in the hopes that you are too lazy to leave.

  • The top saving rate at the moment: Roger.bank is at 4.65% APY (no min), but does require an additional companion checking account. OnPath FCU has a new account paying 5.00% APY but requires $25,000 min. CIT Platinum Savings is now at 4.10% APY with $5,000+ balance, but also has a $225/$300 deposit bonus you can stack on top. There are many banks in between.
  • SoFi Bank is at 3.80% APY + up to $325 new account bonus with direct deposit. You must maintain a direct deposit of any amount (even $1) each month for the higher APY. SoFi has historically competitive rates and full banking features. See details at $25 + $300 SoFi Money new account and deposit bonus.
  • Here is a limited survey of high-yield savings accounts. They aren’t the top rates, but a group that have historically kept it relatively competitive such that I like to track their history.

Short-term guaranteed rates (1 year and under)
A common question is what to do with a big pile of cash that you’re waiting to deploy shortly (plan to buy a house soon, just sold your house, just sold your business, legal settlement, inheritance). My usual advice is to keep things simple and take your time. If not a savings account, then put it in a flexible short-term CD under the FDIC limits until you have a plan.

  • No Penalty CDs offer a fixed interest rate that can never go down, but you can still take out your money (once) without any fees if you want to use it elsewhere. Marcus has a 13mo No Penalty CD at 4.00% APY ($500 minimum deposit). Farmer’s Insurance FCU has 9-month No Penalty CD at 4.25% APY ($1,000 minimum deposit). Kinecta FCU has 9-month Liquid CD at 4.25% APY ($10,000 minimum) that allows for daily penalty-free withdrawals of up to 50% of the start of day balance. Consider opening multiple CDs in smaller increments for more flexibility.
  • Security State Bank has a 12-month certificate special at 4.65% APY ($25,000 min). Early withdrawal penalty is 180 days of interest.

Money market mutual funds
Many brokerage firms that pay out very little interest on their default cash sweep funds (and keep the difference for themselves). Note: Money market mutual funds are highly-regulated, but ultimately not FDIC-insured, so I would still stick with highly reputable firms.

  • Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund (VMFXX) is the default sweep option for Vanguard brokerage accounts, which has an SEC yield of 4.22% (changes daily, but also works out to a compound yield of 4.30%, which is better for comparing against APY). Odds are this is much higher than your own broker’s default cash sweep interest rate.
  • Vanguard Treasury Money Market Fund (VUSXX) is an alternative money market fund which you must manually purchase, but the interest will be mostly (100% for 2024 tax year) exempt from state and local income taxes because it comes from qualifying US government obligations. Current SEC yield of 4.23% (compound yield of 4.31%).

Treasury Bills and Ultra-short Treasury ETFs
Another option is to buy individual Treasury bills which come in a variety of maturities from 4-weeks to 52-weeks and are fully backed by the US government. You can also invest in ETFs that hold a rotating basket of short-term Treasury Bills for you, while charging a small management fee for doing so. T-bill interest is exempt from state and local income taxes, which can make a significant difference in your effective yield.

  • You can build your own T-Bill ladder at TreasuryDirect.gov or via a brokerage account with a bond desk like Vanguard and Fidelity. Here are the current Treasury Bill rates. As of 4/17/25, a new 4-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 4.32% annualized interest and a 52-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 3.99% annualized interest.
  • The iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) has a 4.18% SEC yield (0.09% expense ratio) and effective duration of 0.09 years. SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL) has a 4.13% SEC yield (0.136% expense ratio) and effective duration of 0.15 years. The Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF (VBIL) hasn’t been around long enough to generate an SEC yield (0.07% expense ratio).

US Savings Bonds
Series I Savings Bonds offer rates that are linked to inflation and backed by the US government. You must hold them for at least a year. If you redeem them within 5 years there is a penalty of the last 3 months of interest. The annual purchase limit for electronic I bonds is $10,000 per Social Security Number, available online at TreasuryDirect.gov.

  • “I Bonds” bought between November 2024 and April 2025 will earn a 3.11% rate for the first six months. The rate of the subsequent 6-month period will be based on inflation again. More on Savings Bonds here.
  • In mid-April 2025, the CPI will be announced and you will have a short period where you will have a very close estimate of the rate for the next 12 months. Read all the details about your options here.

Rewards checking accounts
These unique checking accounts pay above-average interest rates, but with unique risks. You have to jump through certain hoops which usually involve 10+ debit card purchases each cycle, a certain number of ACH/direct deposits, and/or a certain number of logins per month. If you make a mistake (or they judge that you did) you risk earning zero interest for that month. Some folks don’t mind the extra work and attention required, while others would rather not bother. Rates can also drop suddenly, leaving a “bait-and-switch” feeling.

  • OnPath Federal Credit Union (my review) pays 7.00% APY on up to $10,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and login to online or mobile banking once per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization. You can also get a $100 Visa Reward card when you open a new account and make qualifying transactions.
  • Genisys Credit Union pays 6.75% APY on up to $7,500 if you make 10 debit card purchases of $5+ each per statement cycle, and opt into online statements. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization.
  • La Capitol Federal Credit Union pays 5.75% APY on up to $10,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases of at least $5 each per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization, Louisiana Association for Personal Financial Achievement ($20).
  • First Southern Bank pays 5.50% APY on up to $25,000 if you make at least 15 debit card purchases, 1 ACH credit or payment transaction, and enroll in online statements.
  • Credit Union of New Jersey pays 6.00% APY on up to $25,000 if you make 12 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and make at least 1 direct deposit, online bill payment, or automatic payment (ACH) per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization.
  • Andrews Federal Credit Union pays 5.50% APY (down from 6%) on up to $25,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and make at least 1 direct deposit or ACH transaction per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization.
  • Find a locally-restricted rewards checking account at DepositAccounts.

Certificates of deposit (greater than 1 year)
CDs offer higher rates, but come with an early withdrawal penalty. By finding a bank CD with a reasonable early withdrawal penalty, you can enjoy higher rates but maintain access in a true emergency. Alternatively, consider building a CD ladder of different maturity lengths (ex. 1/2/3/4/5-years) such that you have access to part of the ladder each year, but your blended interest rate is higher than a savings account. When one CD matures, use that money to buy another 5-year CD to keep the ladder going. Some CDs also offer “add-ons” where you can deposit more funds if rates drop.

  • KS State Bank has a 5-year certificate at 4.15% APY ($500 minimum), 4-year at 4.15% APY, 3-year at 4.15% APY, 2-year at 4.20% APY, and 1-year at 4.25% APY. $500 minimum. The early withdrawal penalty (EWP) for the 5-year is a huge 540 days of interest.
  • Mountain America Credit Union (MACU) has a 5-year certificate at 4.25% APY ($500 minimum), 4-year at 4.25% APY, 3-year at 4.25% APY, 2-year at 3.95% APY, and 1-year at 4.25% APY. Early withdrawal penalty for the 4-year and 5-year is 365 days of interest. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization American Consumer Council for a one-time $5 fee (or try promo code “consumer”).
  • Lafayette Federal Credit Union (LFCU) has a 5/4/3/2/1-year certificates at 4.28% APY ($500 min). Slightly higher rates with jumbo $100,000+ balances. Note that the early withdrawal penalty for the 5-year is a relatively large 600 days of interest. Anyone nationwide can join LFCU by joining the Home Ownership Financial Literacy Council (HOFLC) for a one-time $10 fee.
  • You can buy certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. You may need an account to see the rates. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance and easy laddering, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. Right now, I see a 5-year non-callable brokered CD at 4.00% APY (callable: no, call protection: yes). Be warned that both Vanguard and Fidelity will list higher rates from callable CDs, which importantly means they can call back your CD if rates drop later. (Issuers have indeed started calling some of their old 5%+ CDs during 2024.)

Longer-term Instruments
I’d use these with caution due to increased interest rate risk (tbh, I don’t use them at all), but I still track them to see the rest of the current yield curve.

  • Willing to lock up your money for 10 years? You can buy long-term certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. You might find something that pays more than your other brokerage cash and Treasury options. Right now, I see a 10-year CDs at [n/a] (non-callable) vs. 4.34% for a 10-year Treasury. Watch out for higher rates from callable CDs where they can call your CD back if interest rates drop.

All rates were checked as of 4/20/25.

* I no longer recommend fintech companies due to the possibility of loss due to poor recordkeeping and lack of government regulation. (Ex. Evergreen Wealth at 5% APY is a fintech.)

Photo by insung yoon on Unsplash

Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers, Investing // Tagged:

Capital One Venture X Business Card Review: 150,000 Bonus Miles

Posted on April 15, 2025 // 11 Comments

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Negative changes to lounge access starting February 2026. The card_name is the newest entry into the ultra-premium business card category, with features similar to the Capital One Venture X Rewards credit card for consumers (you can have both at the same time). It has a large new-cardholder bonus, loads of perks, and a hefty annual fee. Right now, there is a limited-time offer targeting those with large annual expenses. Let’s take a look at what it offers:

  • 150,000 Bonus Miles once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months from account opening 150,000 Miles can be redeemed for $1,500 towards travel! (including airfare and hotel stays).
  • Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs.
  • $300 Annual Travel Credit. Get up to $300 in annual statement credits when booking through Capital One’s travel booking site. Book your choice of flights, hotel nights, or car rentals. You can redeem these in partial amounts over the course of the year.
  • 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary.
  • Up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck(R).
  • Airport lounge access. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass(TM) lounges, after enrollment.
  • $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection.
  • This card has no preset spending limit, so you get purchasing power that adapts to your spending needs.
  • Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease.
  • This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month.
  • Annual fee is $395. Free employee cards.

Here is the rewards structure on purchases:

  • 10 Miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One’s travel booking site, where you’ll get Capital One’s best prices on thousands of trip options. They offer a Price Match Guarantee.
  • 5 Miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One’s travel booking site.
  • 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.
  • Redeem miles for any airline, any hotel, rental cars, and more.
  • Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs.

Redemption towards travel, including airline and hotel purchases. Capital One “miles” can be redeemed directly for a cash statement credit on a 1 mile = $0.01 basis when offsetting any travel purchase made on the card within the past 90 days. In other words, 100,000 miles = $1,000 toward travel. That means you can fly on any airline or stay at any hotel, pay with this card, and then “erase” that purchase using your miles balance later. This even includes AirBNB vacation rentals, car rentals, and Uber rides.

This means that earning 2 miles on on every $1 in purchases essentially makes this a 2% back card when applied towards travel. Earn even higher rewards of 5 miles per $1 spent on on flights booked through Capital One’s travel booking site, and 10 miles per $1 spent on on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One’s travel booking site.

Capital One’s travel booking site offers price matching: if you find a better price on another website within 24 hours of booking, they will refund you the difference.

Miles transfer options. Capital One now allows you to transfer your “miles” into select airline miles programs as well. Here are the airline transfer partners:

  • Aeromexico
  • Air France/KLM
  • Air Canada Aeroplan
  • Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
  • Avianca Lifemiles
  • British Airways Avios
  • Emirates Skywards
  • Etihad
  • EVA
  • Finnair
  • Qantas
  • Singapore Airlines Krisflyer
  • TAP Air Portugal
  • Turkish Airlines
  • Virgin Red

Hotel partners

  • Accor Live Limitless
  • Choice Hotels

If you know how to leverage one of these international airline miles programs, this can be a very valuable option. Otherwise, it’s nice to know you can always get a certain level of value by redeeming against any travel purchase.

Airport lounge access details. Capital One is creating their own lounges within select airports (currently in Washington DC’s Dulles Airport and Dallas/Forth Worth). Venture X Business cardholders get unlimited access and can bring 2 free guests per visit. Employee cards do not get lounge access benefits.

You also get Priority Pass membership, which includes access to 1,300+ participating VIP lounges and even included credits to spend at some restaurants, in more than 600 cities and more than 148 countries.

(UPDATE: Starting February 1, 2026, authorized users will no longer receive complimentary access and will need to pay $125 per year for each additional cardholder to retain lounge access. Primary cardholders still receive two complimentary guests to Priority Pass lounges, and additional cardholders who get lounge access get two complimentary guests (after, $35 per guest). Guest access for Capital One lounges and Landings will cost $25 to $45.)

Many people aren’t aware of the fact that they can apply for business credit cards, even if they are not a corporation or LLC. The business type is called a sole proprietorship, and these days many people are full-time or part-time consultants, freelancers, eBay/Amazon/Etsy sellers, Uber/Lyft drivers, or other one-person business owners. This is the simplest business entity, but it is fully legit and recognized by the IRS. On a business credit card application, you should use your own legal name as the business name, and your Social Security Number as the Tax ID.

This card should not show up on your personal credit reports, so your outstanding balance, credit limit, and closure states won’t affect your credit score. You’ll still see a credit check on your personal credit report from the initial application.

Bottom line. The card_name is an ultra-premium business rewards card that earns a minimum of 2 Miles per dollar on all purchases, which you can either redeem against any travel purchase or transfer to one of their airline/hotel partners. There is a generous new-customer offer. If you can take advantage of the $300 annual travel credit, TSA PreCheck(R)/Global Entry fee credit, and add the 10,000 miles on every anniversary, then you’ve effectively offset the $395 annual fee in all future years. To top it all off, the airport lounge access is very nice.

Due to the $1,500+ first-year value, I will be adding this to my Top 10 Best Small Business Card Bonus Offers.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Verizon + Openbank Savings: 4.40% APY + Up to $180 in Bill Credits

Posted on April 10, 2025 // 1 Comment

Verizon and Openbank have partnered together such if that you open a high yield savings account with Openbank and maintain a qualifying balance, you’ll get up to $15 a month in Verizon bill credits for the first 12 months (total up to $180). You also get the standard APY, which is currently a competitive 4.40% APY. If you are a Verizon customer, it might be worth a look. Here are the tiers:

The Verizon Bill Credit is based on the monthly average daily balance of your High Yield Savings account and can range between $5, $10 or $15 a month according to the following:

– Get up to $60/year ($5/month) in Verizon Bill Credits if your average account balance is between $1,000 and $9,999.99. Offer valid for up to 12 consecutive months from the date you open the account.

– Get up to $120/year ($10/month) in Verizon Bill Credits if your average account balance is between $10,000 and $29,999.99. Offer valid for up to 12 consecutive months from the date you open the account.

– Get up to $180/year ($15/month) in Verizon Bill Credits if your balance is $30,000 or more. Offer valid for up to 12 consecutive months from the date you open the account.

Here are the details on qualifying Verizon accounts:

You’ll need an existing Verizon mobile account with up to 12 phone lines maximum (depending on your plan), 5G Home Internet or LTE Home Internet to be eligible to apply for the Verizon + Openbank Savings account. Verizon Prepaid, Verizon mobile Business, Verizon Fios and Verizon Fios Business accounts are not eligible for Verizon + Openbank Savings

Bonus calculations. There is a $500 minimum to open an account, and the bonus is based on the “monthly average daily balance”.

  • $1,000 balance earning $60/year in credits = 6.0% boost over a year.
  • $10,000 balance earning $120/year in credits = 1.2% boost over a year.
  • $30,000 balance earning $180/year in credits = 0.60% boost over a year.

As long as the base APY is relatively competitive, you could probably justify keeping up to $30,000 in this account, given that the bill credits are basically after-tax money. 4.40% + 0.60% = 5.00%, which is a top overall rate. This is assuming they don’t 1099 you for the bill credits, which I doubt they will considering they are a discount on a service.

However, if you just want the most bang for your buck, you could just keep $1,000 in there for a $60 total bonus. Or you could think of it as a ~10% APY savings account for a year.

This promotion would be a lot more attractive if the bill credits applied indefinitely, instead of only the first 12 months. As it is, it might be attractive if you already have Verizon wireless service.

Hat tip to Doctor of Credit.

Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers //

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Review: 75,000 Bonus Points

Posted on April 7, 2025 // 141 Comments

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a premium travel rewards credit card that has gotten very popular due to its useful rewards structure and flexible Ultimate Rewards points that can be redeemed for cash, travel credits, or transferred to airline miles and hotel points. I’ve had it for years. Here are the highlights:

  • 75,000 bonus points after $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months.
  • 5X total points on all travel purchased through Chase TravelSM.
  • 3X points on on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out.
  • 3X points on select streaming services. Includes Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Netflix, Sling, Vudu, Fubo TV, Apple Music, SiriusXM, Pandora, Spotify and YouTube TV.
  • 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs).
  • 2X points on all other travel purchases.
  • 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
  • $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased through Chase TravelSM. New cardmembers will start earning towards the credit immediately and existing cardmembers will start earning after their next account anniversary.
  • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
  • 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase TravelSM. For example, 80,000 points are worth $1,000 toward travel.
  • 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs.
  • 10% Anniversary Point Bonus. Each account anniversary, cardmembers will earn bonus points equal to 10% of total purchases made the previous year. That means, $25,000 in spend will earn an additional 2,500 bonus points.
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
  • $95 annual fee.

Note the following text:

The product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card who received a new cardmember bonus within the last 48 months.

Chase has an unofficial rule that they will automatically deny approval on new credit cards if you have 5 or more new credit cards from any issuer on your credit report within the past 2 years (aka the 5/24 rule). This rule is designed to discourage folks that apply for high numbers of sign-up bonuses. This rule applies on a per-person basis, so in our household one applies to Chase while the other applies at other card issuers.

Ultimate Rewards points. This card offers a special 25% bonus on travel redemptions made through the Chase TravelSM site. For example, 60,000 Ultimate Rewards = $750 in travel. 75,000 Ultimate Rewards = $937.50 in travel. Similar to Expedia or Travelocity, you can book flights on most major airlines and hotel chains. This makes it much more flexible to spend your points. You can even buy something more expensive than your points can cover and pay the difference in cash.

If you have other Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points like the Freedom Flex, Freedom Unlimited, Ink Business Cash or Ink Business Unlimited, you can transfer points into this card account and take advantage of the this higher premium. In other words, your existing Ultimate Rewards points balance could be increased in value by getting this card.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve Card is the “ultra-premium” rewards card that offers a bigger 50% bonus on travel redemptions, along with more perks and a higher annual fee.

Prefer airline and/or hotel points? This card also allows you to transfer Ultimate Rewards points into hotel and/or airline miles. Transfer to United Airlines, British Airways, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Southwest, Hyatt Hotels, IHG Hotels, and Marriott Hotels at a ratio of 1 Ultimate Rewards point = 1 mile/hotel point. Miles redemption continue to offer great value for savvy travelers, especially for last-minute travel and business class seats. I personally use the transfers to “top off” my account to reach a free coach ticket or free hotel night when I don’t have enough points otherwise. My favorite options are United miles, Southwest miles, and Hyatt hotel points. I usually try to save up my points for a Hyatt hotel stay that gets me over 2 cents per point value.

Cash redemptions are a simple and easy option at straight conversion of 100 points = $1.

Sharing points. Ultimate Rewards points are instantly transferable to other accounts including family members, as long as they have their own Chase card with Ultimate Rewards as an authorized user. This way, you can pool points together for transfers and redemptions if you like.

Additional card benefits:

  • Primary car rental collision damage waiver insurance. Decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. Coverage is primary and provides reimbursement up to $75,000 for theft and collision damage for most rental cars in the U.S. and abroad. Most other cards only offer secondary coverage that kicks in only after the deductible of your individual insurance policy is used.
  • Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance. If your trip is canceled or cut short by sickness, severe weather and other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses, including passenger fares, tours, and hotels.
  • Trip Delay Reimbursement. If your common carrier travel is delayed more than 6 hours or requires an overnight stay, you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per ticket

Bottom line. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a popular premium travel rewards card with 3X points on dining out and 2X points on travel. Ultimate Rewards points are very flexible, either transferrable to several airline/hotel programs or directly redeemable to offset a hotel/airfare purchase through Chase TravelSM.

Compare with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card, which offers a bigger 50% bonus on travel redemptions, along with more perks and a higher annual fee.

This offer is on my list of Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

The information for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has been collected independently by My Money Blog. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, Reviews //

American Express “Member Week” March 17-21 (Limited-Time Offers)

Posted on March 16, 2025 // 2 Comments

American Express is celebrating their 175th birthday (!) with a “Member Week” from March 17-21. They are touting various special offers. I honestly don’t know if they will be awesome or disappointing, but I figure that it’s worth logging into your AmEx account/app and checking your AmEx Offer. Here is the press release and the official Member Week page.

Besides a chance at tickets to see Gracie Abrams and a free martini at “participating restaurants in New York, Washington D.C., Miami, Atlanta and Chicago”, here’s their teaser on the retail offers:

In honor of its 175th year, American Express will introduce new, limited-time Amex Offers for eligible U.S. Consumer and Business Card Members. Eligible Consumer Card Members can access more than $290 in statement credits when they make qualifying purchases from brands like Kiehl’s, Levi’s, barnesandnoble.com, Brooks Brothers and Shiseido; eligible Business Card Members can access more than $500 in statement credits on qualifying purchases from HP, Lowe’s and more. More information about Amex Offers and redemption deadlines can be found here (terms apply).

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Helium Mobile Promo Code: Free Cellular Plan

Posted on March 15, 2025 // 3 Comments

Helium Mobile is offering a “free” cellular plan that includes 100 minutes talk, 300 texts, and 3 GB of data per month (no hotspot). You have to upload a government-issued ID (name, address, date of birth, ID number), but you don’t need to provide a credit card. You also have to always allow Location Sharing so they can always track your exact location. Helium Mobile is a T-Mobile MVNO, so you will need a compatible unlocked GSM phone.

The free plan is currently waitlist-only unless you have an invite code, but one of the following invite codes should work to provide you immediate access. Click on the “Got an invite code?” link on the front page. Both iOS and Android apps are available. Try these:

  • JGKOS6O (my referral code)
  • HELIUMCEO
  • HELIUMFREE
  • BREAKFREE

They offer both eSIM and physical SIMs, but as of now the physical SIMs are out of stock and the expected wait time is at least a few weeks.

This is not the first cellular carrier to promote a “free” plan, nor the first to try and build a network of people sharing their WiFi for theoretically low-cost data (“Helium Hotspots”), and you shouldn’t be surprised that the reason beyond this new one is “something something crypto”. They never seem to last very long, and in the past have had hidden fees (FreedomPop) and sometimes required too much effort (RingPlus).

I probably wouldn’t bother using this as your primary number due to the hassle of porting in and out again possibly soon, but having an extra phone number can be useful for a variety of reasons. Some special offers are effectively limited to one per phone number, and sometimes you may not want to give out your primary phone number. You might have an old phone you want to use, or you could just add an eSIM number to your existing phone.

I’m concerned that the always-on location sharing would be a drain on battery life (in addition to your privacy). They say they use Fitness data which is less draining, but I’m still dubious. I would probably learn towards using an old phone.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Pepper Gift Card App: $20 Bonus w/ $200 Purchase (New Users)

Posted on March 14, 2025 // 42 Comments

Update 4/23: Looks like the party is winding down. Pepper no longer sells Amazon or Sam’s Club gift cards when purchasing with credit cards. You can still redeem using points. 10X on Chipotle and DoorDash is all that remains. I would recommending spending your points.

Update 3/14: New extended sales from now until 11:59p ET on March 16th. Be sure you see the offer on your screen before tapping “Buy gift card”. For example, if you buy a $50 Sam’s Club gift card during an 10X offer you’ll get a total of 10,000 points – 2,000 instantly and 8,000 extra later (10,000 points = $5, example screenshot below). I check the Pepper app first thing every morning to see the limited-time Flash Sales and to redeem all my available points that arrived from past purchases. Also, check your AmEx Offers to see if you have a targeted $30 off $75 at Pepper.

  • Sam’s Club 10X/10% back. Sam’s Club codes work at Walmart, and vice versa. They are interchangeable, even after using it at one place you can still use the rest at the other. I’m topped up again.
  • Home Depot 10X/10% back.
  • DoorDash 10X/10% back.
  • Lowe’s 12X/12% back.
  • Chipotle 10X/10% back.
  • Giant Eagle/GetGo/Market District 10X/10% back.

I know these screenshots have older dates, but it shows what you’re looking for during a flash sale:

– Pepper points will now expire if 60 days pass without a purchase. If you made a purchase prior to 11/15/24, you’ll enjoy a grace period; this policy change will not take effect until February 1, 2025. Keep in mind you can buy a $1 gift card.

– Pepper has changed their referral offer to a fixed $20 bonus after spending $200 in your first 15 days. Stack with AmEx offers and a flash sale, if possible.)

Look to stack it with this $30 off $75 AmEx Offer. Search for “Pepper” in your AmEx app. You are less likely to find it again if you used it already.

Original post, updated:

Pepper continues to offer up “flash sales” that offer big discounts on gift cards from Sam’s Club, REI, Sam’s Club, and so on. Plus you still get whatever credit card rewards from the Pepper purchase. Examples are Sam’s Club (= Walmart) at 10% back, IKEA 18% back, Airbnb 14% back in the form of points. Stock up quickly when you see the sale in the app. Redeem instantly into your respective store accounts, if you wish. (Tip: The math will work out. Every 2,000 points is worth $1 in future gift cards. 10,000 points = $5, and so on. Must redeem in increments of $5.)

Here’s the current offer for new Pepper users:

  • Download the Pepper Rewards app and be sure to enter a referral code 588494 on the first screen when joining. Thanks if you use it!
  • Get $20 after spending $200 in your first 15 days. This bonus has changed from the previous offer, but still not bad astheir old double offer only applied on their standard 4X rates, while their daily flash rates are 10X to 15X.
  • You’ll also earn rewards from using your credit card for purchase. Use a 2% or better cash back rewards card, or use it to satisfy a credit card bonus spending requirement that is even better than 2%.

Pepper is an iOS and Android app that sells discounted, new gift cards in exact amounts that are delivered instantly on your phone. This lets you to wait until the moment before purchase when you already have the final purchase price (in-person or online), and then go buy a discounted gift card via the app down to the penny. The main problem with gift cards is when you don’t use up the entire balance. This helps to avoid the waste.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Southwest Becomes Just Another Commodity Airline (Basic Economy, No Checked Bags, Less Legroom, Paid Seating)

Posted on March 13, 2025 // 12 Comments

The big news in travel is that Southwest Airlines has basically given up their unique “We are different!” corporate identity and become just another commodity airline that tries to look as cheap as possible upfront (only $200!) while adding multiple fees on the backend for all the things that used to be included (want to sit next to each other? checked bags? decent legroom? ok sure it’s really $500). As educated consumers, our job is to understand the changes to their value proposition and adjust accordingly. Here’s a list of the new Southwest realities:

  • Basic Economy has arrived to Southwest. The cheapest fare tier is now called “Basic”, not “Wanna Get Away”. You can no longer make free changes; you only get a non-transferrable credit that expires after only 6 months. Earns only 2X points, down from 6X points (elite status-holders get a little more). They are stripping everything possible because Southwest believes that people just pick the lowest fare regardless of features when listed on a comparison site like Google Flights or Expedia.
  • No more free bags. Starting 5/29, on most fares you’ll no longer get two free bags included and they’ll start charging you like everyone else. Business Select fares and A-List Preferred elites will get 2 free checked bags. A-List elites and co-branded credit cardholders will get 1 free checked bag.
  • No more open seating. Must pay for seat choice. Southwest is moving to assigned seats as well, which means Basic fares will have to pay up to pick their seats or be stuck in the worst middle seats or in the back.
  • No more reasonable legroom for everyone. Southwest used to be known for decent seat width and legroom in all its seats. Southwest is now adding “premium” extra-legroom seats if you pay extra $$$. This usually means the rest of Economy loses a few inches in return (right now it looks like seat pitch will go down to 31″ from 32″, similar to Basic Economy for other major airlines).
  • Changes to Rapid Rewards points redemptions. When redeeming Rapid Rewards points for flights, it will not longer be directly linked to the current cash fare. Basically, they want to be able to charge whatever amount they want, and limit the number of award tickets available on certain flights.

I wouldn’t actually read this Southwest press release because it has so much PR-spin that it is quite trifficult to understand what they are actually doing, but this attached graphic is useful:

It’s almost funny because you can still look up their old talking points and interviews on why open seating is better, why keeping free checked bags is better, why the fact that Southwest treats everyone well is important, but now it’s just the exact opposite. Your unique brand was around for 50 years, but now you’ve traded it all for a temporary bump in share price.

Well, Southwest, if you want us to just judge you on price, that’s fine with me. Selling a commodity product is usually a tough business, though. Prediction: The next step is to be merged away with another major airline soon.

In the meantime, I’m not sure if this makes their co-branded credit card more desirable or not. The card has basically added a free checked bag benefit that can be valuable, and some of them offer seating choice perks, but if you were a loyal Southwest flier, these new changes may cause you to not fly them as much anymore and now try out other airlines.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //
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